Bespoke-suited, smooth talking, Martini-sipping, James Bond has long embodied the ultimate in British panache; an image boosted by his impressive array of enviable automobiles and gadgets...
Bespoke-suited, smooth talking, Martini-sipping; James Bond has long embodied the ultimate in British panache – an image boosted by his impressive array of enviable automobiles and gadgets. But it is surely his endless supply of beautiful female companions that garners the greatest envy and most enhances 007’s indisputable style and reputation.
"Ursula Andress caused viewers to swoon as Honey Ryer, emerging from the Caribbean sea in her skimpy (and now famous) white bikini, complete with knife holder"
Over the film franchise’s fifty-year history, some of the world’s most elegant and attractive women have been drafted in to play the much-desired Bond girls who – always dressed in the most stylish of clothing from their respective eras – have provided countless iconic fashion moments. These include Grace Jones’ leather jacket sporting May Day in 1985’s View to A Kill; Barbara Bach’s hippie chic in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); and, most memorably, the original Bond beauty Ursula Andress, who caused viewers to swoon as Honey Ryder in Dr No, emerging from the Caribbean sea in her skimpy (and now famous) white bikini, complete with knife holder.
The bikini, along with a number of other famed Bond costumes (from Roger Moore's Moonraker spacesuit to Pussy Galore's golden waistcoat), are currently on display at the Barbican's latest exhibition, Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style. Also featured are drawings and models for the films' elaborate set designs, as well as some of their most celebrated vehicles and devices, including the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 and Oddjob's sinister knife-edged bowler hat.
Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style is on display at the Barbican until September 5.
Text by Daisy Woodward
